The Black Cats manager sees Gibson as a more or less like-for-like replacement for the injured Jack Rodwell , but he does not want his team’s pattern of play to become so settled it is predictable.

January signing Gibson played his first Premier League football of the season as a substitute during last week’s 4-0 win over Crystal Palace.

And with Rodwell injuring his hamstring in that game, the Republic of Ireland international could step in against Southampton.

“I think he’s ready,” said Moyes. “I don’t know if he’s ready to play 90 minutes but I think he would probably be a similar replacement (for Rodwell). Also I’ve got a question make over Steven Pienaar as well, who makes the team play in a different way.

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“We’ve got to watch that we don’t get completely pigeon-holed into one way of playing and nothing else. I’ve got to be flexible so the opposition don’t find ways of nullifying us or we have no threat.

“I’ve got to be able to change.

“They’re the decisions I’ll make on the day.”

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Sunderland got good results against Tottenham Hotspur (a 0-0 draw) and Palace with a 3-5-1-1 formation.

Despite trying to muddy the water, he should be able to stick with that because Adnan Januzaj and John O’Shea have recovered from hip and hamstring injuries respectively they picked up at Selhurst Park.

Rodwell’s absence is particularly galling for him, as he finally enjoyed starting on the winning side for Sunderland for the first time in a Premier League match.

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“I think for Jack the biggest thing is he’s been playing well, he’s showing that the is a good player,” stressed Moyes, who had the midfielder at Everton.

“I’m on his case at the moment, because I think he’s getting to an age (25) where he has to start taking bigger responsibility, doing the right things more often, getting on the ball more often, and he’s just started to show it, so it’s unfortunate for him but hopefully it won’t be too long.”

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is also back in training, but the game against out-of-form Southampton is likely to come too soon for him.